Ransom For A Sunset
by LittleHobbit13
Summary: Kidnapped for ransom, she would spend her days at the mercy of the whitehaired man. Would her loving family give up what they needed to survive to save her? AU and ensuing relationships.To know who I'm talking about, you'll just have to read, hehe
1. Caught Red Handed

Thank you all for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Insert witty disclaimer here.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Caught Red Handed**

Her breath began to come hard and her legs felt like they would fail at any moment. The wind was cold on her left arm where her pursuers had torn her sleeve off. She began to hear the heavy foot-falls of whomever it was chasing her. Her quickly weakening legs stumbled but she continued on. She no longer knew how long she had been running, but the surrounding area was beginning to look unfamiliar. She had to pray that either her pursuer would give up or they would lose track of her. So far, they had been able to track her as if by her scent alone. The streets she was running along not only were becoming emptier, but they were becoming wider, too. In a wide open space she had less of a chance of a miracle happening. She was having trouble breathing now. It seemed like her lungs just couldn't take in oxygen fast enough. The brick walls and trashcans and other paraphernalia were beginning to come into focus, and she realized that she was beginning to slow down. She had just enough blood reaching her brain for her to realize that her only viable option was to try and hide.

Looking around, she realized that she was finally in an area that was completely foreign to her. From what she could see, there were two options. Option one was a wooded area. Pro: trees are good for hiding. Con: She had to cross an open playground to get there. Option two was a partially hidden alley way to her right. Pro: If she had barely noticed it, perhaps her pursuer wouldn't be so lucky. Con: It might be a dead end or have some pervert down it. She quickly weighed her choices and decided that the alleyway would be her best choice. Ducking into it, she surveyed the alleyway. It was a dead end and practically barren. On the one hand, it was barren of people; so much for perverts. On the other hand, it was barren of any decent sized items to hide behind. There was the cliché dumpster, a few half empty garbage bags, and a corner covered by shadow. The garbage bags weren't filled with enough to make them suitable for hiding, and the shadowy corner, though dark enough was not large enough to hide all of her. The sound of footsteps reached her ears, and her breath and heartbeat quickened. Thinking quickly, she reached into the dumpster and flung out some garbage. She didn't expect this to fool anyone, but she had to at least try to make her pursuer think she had gotten in the dumpster. Finishing her weak attempt at deception, she sat down on the far side of the dumpster. She drew her legs up as close to her body as possible and ducked her head down into her lap, hoping that her pitch black hair would give her some sort of invisibility.

She heard the footsteps enter the alleyway, echoing off of the walls. So much for them not finding the alleyway. The footsteps came further in, and she started to tremble. They stopped in front of the dumpster. She could hear them sifting through the scattered garbage. She heard a deep and frustrated sigh, followed by a swift kick to the dumpster wall.

Time seemed to slow down to a creeping motion as she realized that the surprising kick as managed to extract a soft but audible squeak from her. Her eyes widened in horror at what she had done, and her head shot up. Looking up she saw for the first time the face of her pursuer. It was a man. He had long silvery-white hair and deep golden eyes. Without saying a word, he flashed a terrifying smile and reached down. She screamed and shot under his outstretched hand. Caught by surprise, the man was unable to alter his motion in time to catch her as she went by. Running as fast as she was able, the girl ran for the alleyway exit. She didn't get far though. Still ten feet from the main street she was tackled from behind. She went sprawling, scraping her arm and hands when she hit the ground. Besides the weight of the man on top of her, pinning her to the ground, she felt the painful sting of the gravel and dirt on her torn arm. She tried to struggle and squirm out from underneath of him, but he knew what he was doing and prevented it.

"Stop it! Let me go!" she shrieked. Tears of fear were running down her face as she struggled. Until now, she had thought that things like this only happened to people on television; certainly not to her.

The man sat onto of her, presumably to get something with hands, she assumed. Still she struggled, useless as it seemed to be. Her arms, free from restriction by his body, were clawing at the ground in from of her. He was sitting on her in such a way that prevented her from sitting up. At the same time, he was far enough back that she couldn't use her arms to strike at him is she bent them back. He grabbed her by her shoulder length hair and pulled her head up away from the ground. She felt him lend forward and then saw his hand and arm come around from behind her. The next thing she knew, there was a damp cloth pressed firmly against her mouth and nose. She breathed in a foul smell and began to cough. She had seen enough movies to know what the chemical on the cloth was. Fear griped her, and she resumed her struggles with new conviction. Her head began to feel fuzzy and her limbs started to weaken. The world around her seemed to fade out of focus, and she decided that she just couldn't fight anymore. She gave up, and as she blacked out, the ground rushed up to meet her.

* * *

Her jumbled dreams combined with millisecond moments of lucidity and confused her. She felt herself bumping up and down. Perhaps she was in a vehicle? The chloroform she had been made to inhale was messing up her thoughts. She couldn't seem to focus in on just one thought. Her limbs felt heavy, as if weighed down by a great load, yet they felt no strain. Part of her brain managed to piece together that she was swaddled in blankets, or some sort of similar cloth. The fatigue she now felt, presumably from her strenuous run, captured her attention, and she felt back into blissful sleep.

She aroused briefly. Just long enough to sense herself being carried down a set of stairs. Her injured arm brushed against something, probably a wall, and she cringed, drawing in on herself. The arms holding her tightened and the motion slowed. Sleep claimed her once more.

* * *

_My throat, it's so dry_, was her first thought as she came to. She tried to sit up, but soon discovered that this was a difficult task. First, because all of her recent memories came back to her in that instant and she felt dizzy from it. Second, because her hands were secured not only together at the wrists, but also around a metal pipe. The pipe appeared to run about a half foot off of the ground for the entire length of the room. The girl looked down and saw that she lying on a rag bed. It was made up of different scraps of cloth. There were all of different shapes and patterns. Some of them were course; some of them were soft. Other than the bright colors on the fabric though, her new site of confinement was nothing more than a dank and gray basement room.

The girl tried to slide her hands further down along the pipe so that she could get some sort of leverage and pull herself into a sitting position. As the lower half of her arms slid into view, she saw brightly colored cloth covering her left arm and palms. It seemed that her captor had at least been kind enough to bandage her arm for her. She pulled at the pipe, trying to sit up. She was almost up when her hold on the pipe slipped and she fell back down onto the rags. Several attempts and a couple sore wrists later, she was sitting. It wasn't the world's most comfortable position, but it was better than lying down with her face near the floor where who knows what had been. It wasn't long after that she heard a door open and shut somewhere across from and above her. Footsteps came at her down stairs. The door across the room open and the man from before entered. Without even glancing her way, he shut the door behind him, moved a few feet to the side, and began unfolding a tray table and metal chair. Pulling a roll of papers from the back pocket of his jeans and sat down in the chair. The girl narrowed her eyes. She could tell he was an arrogant type of man from the way he propped his feet up on the table and never once looked at her. A series of profanities directed at him, and certainly not suitable for reiteration, crossed her mind. He simply sat there, flipping through the papers. Tired of being ignored, she yanked her hands at their bindings, hoping the noise would get his attention. It did, but no more than a mere glance up in her direction before he was back to reading the papers. She yanked again. No glance this time. She blew at her bangs, trying to get them out of her eyes. He glanced at her again, but it was only brief. She yanked again. Still nothing. If her wrists and arm had been in better shape, she would have kept going, but the yanking was starting to be painful. The man seemed to sense this. The man, without looking at her, spoke for the first time.

"You shouldn't keep doing that, you know. You'll only worsen your injuries." He had an indifferent tone, but despite it, she though his voice was somewhat nice. Some people might even sense some kindness in it. Perhaps despite what he had done, this man was a decent person. He _had_ bandaged her arm after all. The antagonistic side of her brain took over. _Yes, he treated the injuries that _he_ caused!_

"Bite me!" the girl sniped back.

"No thanks. I think you might taste sour, and just a bit bitter." He was mocking her! How dare him!

"You know," he continued on, "you aren't a very interesting person, Kagome Higurashi. No, you're not very interesting at all."

"I won't even ask how you knew my name. This was obviously a planned assault. I'd bet money those papers you're reading are full of information about me. Am I right? Or maybe you're just some stalker-type pervert who's been collect information on me for the past few years." Kagome was sick this man already. She decided that if she had to be tied up, she didn't want to be tied up near him. She yanked at the bindings again.

"I told you to stop that. I don't want to have to re-bandage you. You were a bloody, bright red mess before; ruined a good shirt. They may be drugstore supplies, but those medical things certainly aren't cheap, and they're a damn pain to mess with, too. Besides, I'd have to put you to sleep again to do it. You don't want that, do you? No, I didn't think so."

"Maybe if you hadn't used _duct tape_ to restrain me, there wouldn't be so much difficulty! Honestly, you couldn't afford handcuffs or something?" Kagome was not looking forward to getting duct tape off of her. It would be even worse than having to take a band-aid off.

"Oh please. I've seen the movies. Everyone and their grandmother can pick handcuff locks nowadays. And you're right you know. These papers do have information about you. Want to know what they say? They say you're clever. I bet you could probably figure your way out of worse than handcuffs." He began to read off of the papers he was holding. "Kagome Higurashi. Age: 17. Height: 5 foot 7 inches. Just for you, I'll pretend I didn't read your weight. I know how testy girls can get about that information. Family: One grandfather, your mother, and a younger brother whom you have been caught doting on. You father died in a car accident when you were younger, my condolences. You also have a rather large house cat by the name of Buyo." He paused to turn the page.

"What do you want from me?" she asked him. He continued reading.

"Let's see, what else. You're a decent student in school and are quite often surrounded by numerous friends. Despite enthusiastic demeanor towards the school community, you've only joined one extracurricular activity: the Archery Club." By this point, the knowledge that various people knew this much information about her gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. He rocked back in the chair, balancing it on the back legs.

"Who are you?" Kagome demanded to know. He ignored her and continued onwards.

"Blah, blah, favorite places to hang out… Academic achievements: boring. Your favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla. How convenient, that's my favorite, too. Maybe if you behave I'll share some with you. Blah, blah, blah, community services... My, aren't you the little goody-two-shoes." He spoke in a monotone voice, as if already bored with her.

"You coward," she muttered quietly. That simple, quiet statement was enough to unbalance him. Had he not grabbed at the table quickly, he would have gone sprawling backwards, possibly even banging his head on the wall behind him. He looked at her. His facial expression was calm, but she could see an angry glint in his eyes. That unsettling glint made it very difficult to salvage her own annoyed look.

"And what makes you say that, may I ask?"

"You won't answer any of my questions! You won't even tell me what to call you! You must be afraid that you'll feel bad about what you've done if you actually talk to me! Conclusion: you're a coward!" Kagome felt her checks go red, realizing she was scolding the man who had kidnapped her.

"Not likely. I've felt bad about much worse things compared to this. Why can't you just stay quiet!" he replied.

"Why can't you just give me a name! You have so much information about me already. It seems only fair that I should be allowed at least one piece of information about you. _Like a name?_" She was trying to sound as confident as possible, but the truth was Kagome was so scared she thought she might wet herself.

"So, if I tell you my name, you'll be satisfied?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, it's a deal. I'll tell you my name."

**-End**

Author Notes:

1: I'm not one of those lame-o people who believes in "No review, no updates."

2: On the other hand, that doesn't mean I don't want reviews. I love them. They make my day, even if they're negative. Questions are always welcome, too.

3: I hope you'll come back for chapter 2!

4: Update times: Honestly, this chapter took about 2.5-3 days to complete. I'm at college. I'll update when I have the time, but school work comes first. Let's estimate the next chapter update for about 2 weeks from now. It's not very far away, and if I finish sooner, lucky you! Two weeks also allows me enough time to think about the chapter. I don't want, and I think you might all agree with me, the content to suffer because I'm rushing to finish.

5: Content Policy: Again, I'll update whether I get reviews or not, but reviews are helpful. They allow me to make the story better. Perhaps if you have the time, you'd like to share what you're favorite part of the chapter was? Your least favorite part?

6: **I DO _NOT_ DO LEMONS. Don't even ask.**

Chapter Notes:

1: Evil laugh How many people can guess who kidnapped her? I've narrowed it down to two possibilities for you all. Which one could it possibly be?

2:I want to make this story interesting. If you have any suggestions for something you'd like to see in the story, please tell me! I can't guarantee it will happen, but it will give me something to consider! However, I will ask that you respect AN#6 and keep the rabid fan girl-ness to a minimum.

Good examples: _I want Kagome to stab Inuyasha in a desperate escape attempt!_

_Make them have a heart-to-heart! They can share secrets!_

_She's got to smack him! At least once!_

whistles innocently What? Me give away future events? Why ever would you say such a thing?


	2. Healing Hands and Quiet Time

Thank you all for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Insert witty disclaimer here.

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**Chapter 2: Healing Hands and Quiet Time  
**

"I suppose you could call me Inuyasha. Now you have to ask yourself though, is that the truth?"

"I think it is. You certainly look like a dog to me. And you probably smell like one, too." Kagome glared at him. She didn't like that she was completely at the mercy of someone else. If he decided to do something, there wouldn't be much that she could do to stop him. So far, he had been at least somewhat gentleman-like. He had at least bandaged her injuries and he was keeping a respectable distance from her. Her head began to ache.

"I'm offended. I showered as soon as I took care of you, I'll have you know," he said. He ran his hand through his hair, brushing aside the strands that had fallen across his face. Kagome pulled at her bonds again. She pulled as hard as she could; straining at them. Inuyasha seemed to notice once again. He got up and stalked over to her. Leaning down, he starred at her.

"Am I going to have to get you a ticket to dreamland again?" Inuyasha couldn't understand why this girl insisted on fighting. Why couldn't she just accept her situation and cooperate? Anyone else in a similar situation would have been bawling their eyes out and begging for mercy, whereas this girl looked at him like she wanted to stab _his_ eyes out.

"Get away from me," she hissed at him. Kagome's headache had grown from a mild annoyance to a stabbing pain. She began to breathe more heavily in an attempt to subdue the pain. Unsuccessful, Kagome allowed herself to fall over onto her rag bed. Burying her face in the cloth, she mumbled something Inuyasha could not understand.

"What was that? Giving up this little tantrum already?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome lifted her face up.

"I said, go away. You're giving me a splitting headache." She flopped down again and groaned. She heard him sit down next to her head. Then next thing she knew, there was a firm hand beneath her chin, lifting her head upwards.

"As much as you'd love to think it was me, more likely it's a reaction to the chloroform." He put his hand to her forehead. "Hmm, you don't have a fever." He reached down to take her pulse. "Pulse seems good. You'll be fine by morning." Kagome wrenched her head away.

"Don't ever touch me! And _go away!_ You make me sick!" Her head turned towards the wall, away from him. She heard him mutter something undecipherable and get up. Without collecting the table and chair, Inuyasha left the room, slamming the door on his way out. To Kagome, even his footsteps up the stairs sounded angry. Frankly, she couldn't care less. Her head felt like it was about to split in two. The pain soon became so bad that she felt tears running down her face. Then, at some point, the tears of pain began to mix with tears of sadness and desperation. Tonight, Kagome would cry herself to sleep.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Inuyasha was fuming. He refrained from throwing something, anything, only because he didn't want that girl to know she had agitated him so much. What the hell was her problem! He hadn't hurt her…well, not intentionally. He bandaged and took care of the injuries he caused. And he had tried to make sure she was comfortable. When she complained about the headache, hadn't he checked to make sure she was okay? Granted, he had kidnapped her, but besides that hadn't he tried to extend her some basic human decency? He had kept his distance and even warned her about making her injuries worse. His mother had always told him not to go to bed angry, but he decided that would be quite impossible tonight without some kind of miracle. Locking the front door, he stormed upstairs to bed, hoping _he_ would be fine by morning.

* * *

Kagome wasn't sure if it was morning when she next awoke. There were no windows in her make-shift prison cell. However, upon turning her head away from the wall, she saw a clock sitting near her head. Inuyasha must have come down while she was still asleep and put it there. It wasn't as helpful as she would have hoped for though. It wasn't a digital clock, so she still had no idea if it was morning or evening. Pulling at her wrists, she felt that they were still tied securely behind her. She also felt the pain of hunger in the pit of her stomach. How long had it been since she had last eaten? 1 day? 2 days? It seemed like an eternity ago at this point. Kagome actually thought she might throw up simply because she was so hungry. Even a small glass of water would have been welcome; water to ease her hunger and wet her parched throat. However, in order to get water, she would have to speak to Inuyasha. To speak with Inuyasha, she would first have to figure out where he was and how to get his attention. She quickly ruled out screaming. She didn't know how far away her captor was and so she doubted her parched voice would carry very far. Also, she had her pride. She wasn't about to beg _Inuyasha_ for anything. Option two would be trying to pick the clock up with her feet and throw it at the wall to see if he would hear it. She decided against this choice as well because not only did she doubt her own skill at picking something up with her feet, but she also would break the clock. Breaking the clock would leave her without any company. At least the soft ticking of the second hand kept her from total insanity in the quiet solitude. Kagome feared being left alone in this situation. She feared the final results or possibilities that her imagination would think up. While ruling out the first two options, she pulled herself into an upright sitting position again. Kagome didn't have a chance to think of a third option though, because shortly she heard (who she assumed to be) Inuyasha walking down the steps. The door opened and there was Inuyasha, carrying a plastic box and a juice carton. Shutting the door behind him, Inuyasha came over and crouched beside her. 

"How are your wrists and arm today?" he asked. He set down the items and reached into his pocket.

"Still behind me," was her depreciatory reply. She watched him pull a Swiss Army knife out.

"Boohoo for poor you. Would you be happy if I told you I'm here to fix that? You have to change bandages if you want things to heal, you know. I'm going to take the duct tape away now, and you had better not try to run." He pushed on her back, signaling her to lean forward. When she did, Kagome felt him grab at the duct tape, heard a cut, and suddenly her hands were free. As soon as they were, she pushed at him and headed for the door. She didn't get far before her legs failed her. Inuyasha tsked at her and came over to help her up.

"You'd better not try to run," he repeated, "because your legs will cramp up. Did you forget that you've been sitting for awhile now?" He half walked, half pulled her back to the rag bed. He set her down on the rags and tidied them up. A good number of the scraps of cloth had been scattered when Kagome had pushed off of them headed for the door.

"Lie down and turn onto your stomach," Inuyasha instructed.

"What? Not a chance!" Kagome slid away from him into the corner. What was he planning? Inuyasha sighed.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice about this and let you do it yourself. There are a lot worse ways I could get you to do it; the least of which being me physically forcing you to it. I'm not going to do anything to you. I'll even swear by my mother, a good decent woman." Inuyasha put his hands behind his back. "I won't even move until you're finished. Satisfied?" Kagome narrowed her eyes but moved to comply anyways. She had no desire to find out how he would force her to do it.

"Your mother is horrible to let you run loose into the world," she told him sullenly. She shifted to rest her head on its side on her arms.

"No, don't do that, I need to see those," Inuyasha said, pulling at her arms. "And my mother is dead. She died when I was young."

"Oh." Kagome suddenly felt very ashamed of herself. It was not kind to speak ill of the dead. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Inuyasha rested his knee on her back.

"Ow! What do you think you're doing! Get off me!" Kagome began to squirm. She stopped suddenly when she felt an uncomfortable amount of pressure on her back.

"I think I'm doing exactly what I'm doing. This way, I can keep you from running off and I can also keep you from squirming too much." Inuyasha released the pressure. He carefully peeled away the bandages, stopping when he got to the end of the strip. "Yuck. I hate to say this, but some of the blood glued the bandaged to your skin, so this is going to hurt." He began to tug softly but firmly at the bandage end. After a series of "Ow"s from Kagome and "Hold still"s from Inuyasha, the bandage was off. He opened up the plastic box he had brought with him. It was full of first-aid supplies. First he took out an antibiotic wipe and cleaned the dried blood from her arm. Next, Inuyasha used an antibiotic cream on her arm. Careful not to do more than brush the tender, healing scar tissue, he rubbed the cream over her damaged skin. Lastly, he pulled out a fresh roll of bandages and began to gently re-wrap her arm. He repeated the same treatment to her right wrist. When he finished, he allowed her to sit up.

"Want me to wrap it with a pretty color again?" he asked, jokingly. Kagome just starred at him while she rubbed the bandaging. Her wounds felt surprisingly better; only slightly, but still better. When she didn't answer, Inuyasha shrugged and began to clean up the supplies. With a click of the lid, he turned to her.

"Thirsty?"

"…maybe." Inuyasha handed her the juice carton.

"I thought so." Kagome took the carton and looked around as is searching for something. "Is something wrong?"

"Can I have a glass?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Just drink it right from the carton! I don't have all day you know." Kagome grumbled but sipped at the juice anyways. She immediately spit it out.

"It's sour!" Her eyes squeezed shut and her face scrunched up. She held out the carton for him to take.

"It's this or nothing. I have go up to work you know."

"Then nothing!" Inuyasha shrugged, took the carton, and pulled out a roll of duct tape. "Wait!"

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I don't like asking _you_ for anything, but I can please go to the bathroom?" Kagome had been wanting for the bathroom since she'd awakened. Inuyasha grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a standing position. Without saying a word, he marched her across the room. Just on the other side of the door was another door. Opening it, Kagome saw a small bathroom. Its aesthetics were barely better than that of the room behind her. Without saying a word, Inuyasha pushed her inside and closed the door. Kagome was curious; Inuyasha seemed strangely impatient with her. What kind of work was it that he did? She decided to ask him after she relieved herself. Perhaps she had been poking at his patience too much. He had not been cruel to her, but if she kept agitating him, who knew if he would restrain himself. Finishing up, she took a drink of water from the sink. Despite the surrounding appearance, the water was clean and good. She drank several handfuls, just enough to calm her stomach's hunger. Inuyasha banged on the door.

"Hurry up. Don't make me come in there!" he warned. Kagome came out. Grabbing her by the arm again, he led her back into her room. Resigning herself, she sat down and allowed him to secure her wrists back together.

"I'll be back with lunch at noon," he said, taping the clock. Kagome frowned.

"What do _I_ do, then," she asked. That would leave her alone for several hours.

"Don't know, don't care. Have a conversation with yourself or something. I have to go open up shop now." With that, Inuyasha left her. Just as the door was clicking shut, he thought he heard a soft humming noise from the other side of the room.

* * *

Kagome quietly hummed a bedtime song to herself. It gave her comfort. Her mother sang the same song to her when she was a little girl, barely past her father's knee. Every night, when she tucked her into bed under the covers, Kagome's mother sang the song to Kagome. Now, in this cold room, Kagome thought of her family. Were they worried about her? Had Inuyasha asked them for some kind of ransom? But…Inuyasha had a store. He even seemed relatively happy with his work. Was he doing this for ransom or just for kicks? He had been nice so far, but what if that was just Inuyasha trying to gain her truth. And once he got it, would he do something worse? Kagome realized her imagination was acting up and shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. She starred around the room while listening to the ticking of the second hand of the clock. How could she keep herself from so going insane? There was just too much to think about and too much time to think. Assuming that she hadn't slept for some unnatural amount after the chloroform, Kagome made an educated guess that it was probably Thursday. Could she keep her sanity intact until the weekend, hoping Inuyasha could provide some sort of distraction for her then? Kagome suddenly felt very alone. As best she could, Kagome scooted into the corner at the end of her rag pile. She pulled her knees to her chest and began to hum her song again.

**-End**

* * *

Author Notes: 

1: I'm not one of those lame-o people who believes in "No review, no updates."

2: On the other hand, that doesn't mean I don't want reviews. I love them. They make my day, even if they're negative. Questions are always welcome, too.

3: I hope you'll come back for the next chapter!

4: Update times: Honestly, this chapter took about 3-4 days to complete. I'm at college. I'll update when I have the time, but school work comes first. Let's estimate the next chapter update for about 2 weeks from now. It's not very far away, and if I finish sooner, lucky you! Two weeks also allows me enough time to think about the chapter. I don't want, and I think you might all agree with me, the content to suffer because I'm rushing to finish.

5: Content Policy: Again, I'll update whether I get reviews or not, but reviews are helpful. They allow me to make the story better. Perhaps if you have the time, you'd like to share what you're favorite part of the chapter was? Your least favorite part?

6: I DO _NOT_ DO LEMONS. Don't even ask.

Chapter Notes:

1: Who knew Inuyasha could be so mother-like? He's the perfect kidnapper, lol.

2: Kagome has some nerve, don't you think? What makes her think that Inuyasha could possibly give anyone a headache/sarcasm

3: Can Kagome keep her sanity alone for that long? Could you do it?

4: Who can guess what kind of job Inuyasha has? It's pretty different from most other fan fictions…

5: I want to make this story interesting. If you have any suggestions for something you'd like to see in the story, please tell me! I can't guarantee it will happen, but it will give me something to consider! However, I will ask that you respect A.N. #6 and keep the rabid fan girl-ness to a minimum.

Good examples: _I want Kagome to stab Inuyasha in a desperate escape attempt!_

_Make them have a heart-to-heart! They can share secrets!_

_She's got to smack him! At least once!_

whistles innocently what? Me give away future events? Why ever would you say such a thing?


	3. Meal Deal

Thank you all for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Insert witty disclaimer here.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 3: Meal Deal

Just as promised, Inuyasha arrived back in Kagome's room at noon. He found her sitting in the corner, still humming.

"Have you been humming since I left?" He put one tray on the table and then walked over. "It's pretty. What is it?" No answer. He set the other tray down and pulled out his knife. He cut the tape and walked back to his own meal. He started eating, assuming she would do the same. It _had_ been almost 2 days since she'd last eaten. After a few bites, Inuyasha noticed that Kagome still hadn't touched her food. She was just sitting there, still humming that same tune, quietly and to herself. The only change since he had walked in the room was now her arms were clasped around her body.

"Kagome, eat," Inuyasha ordered. There was still no change. "I know you're hungry. I can hear your growling stomach from here." He saw a small shake of her head in her lap.

"What's that? You aren't hungry?" asked Inuyasha. There was a small nod this time.

"That's a lie. I know how long it's been since you've eaten." There was another shake. "Do I need to feed you?"

"No! I just don't want to eat any of your disgusting food!"

"That's uncalled for. I'm a decent cook, thank you very much. You're just being stubborn." Inuyasha had a stubborn side, too. If she didn't want to eat, then fine, he wouldn't make her. She would eat eventually. Hunger is a powerful motivator when it comes to eating. That didn't mean Inuyasha couldn't have his fun and help motivate her.

"You know, this soup is really good." He took a sip. "The herbs really add flavor." He saw her glance at the bowl. Soup was a good food choice. It didn't require knives or forks or any other utensil with sharp edge. He exaggerated a slurp from his own bowl.

"Yum. It's delicious, honestly. It's like a parade in my mouth."

"Could you shut up?" Kagome moved her hands to cover her ears. Inuyasha took a sip of his drink. He usually had a variety of drinks at his disposal. Tonight's choice was sweet fruit punch.

"And this fruit punch is so sweet! In fact, I think I might contract diabetes from the sugar in this drink." As he lifted his bowl, he saw her reach for her bowl. _Hah, I know she would eat._ Inuyasha took another slurp from his bowl. He put his bowl down just in time to see Kagome's bowl flying through the air at his person. He leaned heavily to the side just as it met the space where his head had previously been. It smashed against the wall, sending splashes of soup and pieces of bowl flying. In a slight state of shock, Inuyasha rebalanced himself.

"What the hell did you do _that_ for!" he shouted. Kagome just glared at him, as if he should know what his transgression was. Inuyasha bent down and picked up the largest pieces of the broken bowl. Dumping them on his tray, he stalked over to her. He roughly grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. Holding them together, he tied the tape around them in the usual manner. He left her without another word, taking the trays with him as he left. This time, Kagome did not feel lonely. She was too angry to feel much of anything else. She could not believe that Inuyasha had the gall to taunt her like that!

* * *

Upstairs, Inuyasha slammed the trays down on the counter. He threw the pieces of broken bowl in the waste basket underneath the sink. 

_What the hell was that about?_ He thought irritably to himself. This girl was so enigmatic. She seemed like a very independent person, but she was doing everything in her power to get herself restrained. He was being more than generous with her. He let her use the bathroom in private, he hadn't taken advantage of her immobility in any way, and he even untied her so she could feed herself. And she repaid him by throwing her bowl at him. Granted, she had a right to be angry with him; he was holding her against her will after all. However, he was performing many good acts to balance out that one bad action. Why did life always try to screw him over?

* * *

Several hours later, Inuyasha returned down to the basement with dinner. He had learned his lesson however, and this time dinner came in the form of a cheeseburger on a paper plate. Kagome was not humming this time. As soon as the door opened, she locked his gaze with her most anger-filled scowl. Inuyasha seemed unperturbed by this. Putting his food down on the tray table, he walked over to her. He put her food in front of her and untied her. 

"Don't look at me like that. I could just as well not bring you food. I know how long it's been since you've eaten. You can't keep up with this juvenile hunger strike forever," Inuyasha said. Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. He shrugged and walked back to his seat. He started eating and watched as Kagome rubbed vigorously at her legs, presumably to get feeling in them again. When she finished, her legs were a bright red because of the rough nature of the bandages covering her hands and arm. Kagome seemed to realize this, and started to unpeel the bandages.

"Come on now, don't do that," insisted Inuyasha through a mouthful of food. Kagome ignored him and continued to un-wrap the bandages. Pulling them away, she looked with horror at her arms. Her once perfect, blemish-free skin was now cluttered with scabs and bloody residue. Tears prickled at the corners of her brown eyes.

"You ruined me!" she screamed at Inuyasha, waving her arms at him. "I can't go into public like this! Everyone will think I'm a freak!"

Inuyasha swallowed before replying, "Well, it's good that you probably won't be in public before those heal then. Aren't you lucky? Why not eat something. It will make you feel better."

"I don't want to eat! Your disgusting face makes me lose my appetite!" Kagome pushed the plate away from her. Inuyasha shrugged at her. Kagome was lying though. Kagome was secretly happy that she had company at her meal times. She felt very lonely during those long hours when Inuyasha left her alone while he worked. There was absolutely nothing to do but sit and think.

Being kidnapped was not nearly as glamorous as she had imagined it would be. There was no information to be torture for; no threats on her life. She wasn't even bound and gagged except at her wrists. There would be no exciting and death-defying stories to bring back and share with her family and friends. Simply put, her experience so far was boring. Kagome sighed inwardly to herself. She didn't even know the reason behind her kidnapping yet. She should probably ask Inuyasha at some point. It wouldn't prove useful necessarily, but it would at least give her a better understanding of her situation. She could guess how desperate they were to reach their goal if she knew. She suddenly felt pressure in her bowels.

"Hey, I need to use the bathroom."

"Okay, thanks for the information." Kagome was confused.

"Aren't you going to come with me?"

"What, you don't know how to go by yourself?"

"That's not what I meant. Aren't you worried that I'll try to run off?"

"No. Should I be?"

"…" Kagome was confused again. On TV the kidnapper followed their victim everywhere. Her loins won out over her confusion though and she stood to walk to the bathroom. As she passed by, Inuyasha reached out and caught her by the arm, well above her scabs.

"If you won't eat, then let me give you some food for thought. One: I'm faster than you with only a little effort. Two: It's not as easy to do as you think." The last thought was somewhat cryptic, so Kagome ignored it. Inuyasha was probably just trying to scare her. She walked through the doorway and stopped. The bathroom was to her right…but there were stairs in front of her. At the top was a door. Kagome glanced behind her. _Would Inuyasha really be able to catch her?_ She started sneaking up the stairs. She, by some rare miracle, got to the top of the stairs in silence. She grabbed the door handle and tried to turn it. It wouldn't budge. No wonder Inuyasha had seemed so confident. He had locked the door so there was no way that she could escape. Defeated, she walked silently back down the stairs and into the bathroom. She took care of her bodily functions and then drank some water from the sink. She also tried to wet her hair in the sink, hoping she could make it a little neater. Currently, bits of it stuck out at odd directions and it looked like there was a nasty knot in one place. Giving up, she walked back to the room.

"I told you it wasn't that easy," said Inuyasha as she entered. From somewhere he had managed to materialize new bandages and Neosporin. Waiting until Kagome was seated again, Inuyasha walked over and dressed her arms as he had the previous day.

"Last chance to eat," offered Inuyasha.

"No." Inuyasha tugged her hands behind her and secured them. Wishing her a good night, Inuyasha carried the plate with Kagome's once again un-eaten dinner upstairs. Kagome settled onto her rag pile and tried to get comfortable. Sleep came soon enough.

* * *

Kagome slept through most of the next morning. There was nothing to do during the day, so as a cause she had no reason to be up at a certain time. When she finally woke up, it was almost noon. She felt like her skin was crawling; it had been days since she last had a chance to bathe. Inuyasha seemed reasonable enough; maybe she could negotiate a shower out of him. She would have been almost satisfied if she could just get him to dump a bucket of soapy water over her. He seemed inclined to let her do basic things for herself at least. She shuddered at the awkward thought of him helping her bathe. Her stomach growled. Maybe it was time that she ate something. It just annoyed her the way Inuyasha acted as if she should be grateful to him after he had kidnapped her! Just as that thought finished running through her head, Inuyasha walked opened the door wearing his usual smug grin. That grin itself was enough to completely erase all of her previous thoughts of cooperation. 

"It's about time you got up. How long were you planning to sleep anyways?" Inuyasha asked.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Kagome countered as Inuyasha released her.

"Afraid not. Lunch today is delicious, home-cooked pizza. If you're only going to eat once, you might as well eat this." Inuyasha placed a plate in her hands. Kagome just stared at it as if it might jump up and try to eat _her_ at any second.

"Why do you always look at my food like it's poisoned? You're going to hurt my feelings if you keep that up much longer," said Inuyasha playfully. Kagome yawned as she put the plate on the floor. She noticed that every day she had a little less energy. Not eating was beginning to take its toll on her. Inuyasha, prick that she though he was, did not let this go unnoticed.

"See? You're tired from not eating. Just one little bite and I'll be happy. Just one." Although he made sure to keep a playful attitude in his voice, in his mind he was beginning to get worried. He didn't understand why she wasn't eating, so he couldn't think of how to persuade her otherwise. She had a listless look about her, and it may have been his imagination but it looked like she had lost a significant amount of weight. If she tried to keep this up any longer he would probably have to force feed her. He didn't want her starving herself to death simply because of her own foolish pride. Of course, once again, Kagome refused to eat her meal. Instead, she leaned weakly up against the wall and closed her eyes. When Inuyasha finished his own meal, Inuyasha picked up her plate.

"No more of this hunger strike, Kagome. Tonight you're going to eat something," reprimanded Inuyasha.

"Mmm. You could just let me go home," Kagome replied quietly and sleepily. Inuyasha tied her back up and left. He couldn't let her go. It really wasn't his decision to make. It would be so much easier if she would just put aside her pride and cooperate. She wouldn't be the only one in trouble if they thought he was allowing her to starve. She was going to eat tonight, whether she liked it or not.

* * *

Kagome felt so tired. She drifted in and out of sleep all day. She knew her crazy attempt at release through starvation wasn't working, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. It was the only thing she could think of to do. At least Inuyasha seemed somewhat concerned. She vaguely remembered him confidently saying she would eat tonight. It gave her something to do to think of all the ways that he might make that certainty happen. She found that she didn't even have the strength to bother trying to sit up anymore. She just spent her time lying down on her rag pile watching the second tick by on her clock while she was awake. It was almost time for dinner. She started to wonder what her family was eating, but that only made her hungry, so she tried to think of something else. At this point though, no matter what she tried to think about, her mind related all of it back to food somehow. Was her pride worth it? Part of her answered "definitely", but there was a growing part that whispered "I'm not so sure." 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was up in the kitchen trying to figure out what to serve for dinner. It had to be something that she could easily eat herself, but at the same time something he could easily force her to eat. At first he had only been angry that she was trying to play her little game. Now though, she was taking it to a dangerous level and he was growing worried. The girl barely had enough energy to stay awake during lunch. He was really hoping he wouldn't have to force-feed her. It wasn't exactly the most endearing action he could think of. The positive sides to her lack of energy were that he no longer had to worry about bowls flying at his head and she, in particular her arms, was a lot easier to care for. He decided to settle on serving soup. It wouldn't take a lot of energy on her part to consume, and he could very easily make her eat it if he had to. It didn't take long to make, and soon he and the tray were on the way downstairs to where his "guest" was.

He opened the door and put the food tray on his tray table. He then shut the door, not that he expected her to run away during this particular visit. Very carefully, he brought over her bowl and set it down in front of her. Pulling out his pocket knife, he cut through the duct tape and pulled her, with little resistance, up into a sitting position. Putting her hands out in front of her, he picked up the bowl and gave it to her. He watched as she just looked wistfully at the soup. He hoped as he walked away that it was because she was going to break down and eat.

"Eat your soup, Kagome. No playing games," he told her sternly as he started to eat his own dinner. He quickly ate, just in case he had to..."help" her eat. He was prepared to do it, however much he didn't want to. He had made sure to wear an old, already stained shirt. He had brought extra paper towels down with him, and he even brought down an old t-shirt to put over her clothes in case of spills. He was sending prayer after prayer up towards the heavens. _Please let her eat. Please let her eat._ Apparently Inuyasha had fallen out of favor with the gods, because as he sat there, he watched Kagome set the bowl back on the floor and lie down again.

"Damn it, Kagome!"

**-End**

* * *

Author Notes: 

1.) I'm not one of those lame-o people who believes in "No review, no updates."

2.) On the other hand, that doesn't mean I don't want reviews. I love them. They make my day, even if they're negative. Questions are always welcome, too.

3.) I hope you'll come back for the next chapter!

4.) Update times: Honestly, this chapter took about…_forever_…to complete. See Chapter Notes #2.

5.) Content Policy: Again, I'll update whether I get reviews or not, but reviews are helpful. They allow me to make the story better. Perhaps if you have the time, you'd like to share what you're favorite part of the chapter was? Your least favorite part?

6. ) **I DO _NOT_ DO LEMONS. Don't even ask.**

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Chapter Notes:

1.) This chapter took a little longer to write then the others. I had trouble with a transitional passage in the chapter and then…

2.) My creative well dried up for this story. I couldn't remember what I wanted to do with it. Now I'm going to try and get back to it though! However, after this chapter, there definitely won't be an update until after the weekend at least. I have to go home and get last semester's math notebook. It's where I wrote most of my notes and ideas for this story. Much sorry-ness!

3.) I want to make this story interesting. If you have any suggestions for something you'd like to see in the story, please tell me! I can't guarantee it will happen, but it will give me something to consider! However, I will ask that you respect A.N. #6 and keep the rabid fan girl-ness to a minimum.

Good examples: _I want Kagome to stab Inuyasha in a desperate escape attempt!_

_Make them have a heart-to-heart! They can share secrets!_

_She's got to smack him! At least once!_

whistles innocently what? Me give away future events? Why ever would you say such a thing?


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